Full Description

Reverse osmosis (RO) is being increasingly used in treatment of municipal wastewatersecondary effluent for potable and non-potable reuse. Among other foulants, dissolvedbiopolymers, i.e., proteins and polysaccharides, can lead to severe fouling of the ROmembranes. In this study, the role of membrane surface properties in RO membranefouling by two model biopolymers, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and sodium alginate(NaAlg), was investigated. Three commercial RO membranes with different surfaceproperties were tested in a laboratory-scale cross-flow membrane filtration unit.Membrane surface properties considered include surface roughness, zeta potential, andhydrophobicity. The results revealed that membrane surface roughness had the greatesteffect on fouling by the biopolymers tested. At the same concentration, alginate fouledthe membranes much faster than BSA under the solution conditions tested. Includes 16 references, figures.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 11/01/2005 Number of Pages: 10File Size: 1 file , 350 KB